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Ford CEO says EVs will be sold 100% online with nonnegotiable price

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Re: Ford CEO says EVs will be sold 100% online with nonnegotiable price

#401

Post by bombcar »

hackernewds wrote: post #282
paxys wrote: post #39

A lot has been said about the dealership model in the last few years, and the almost universal consensus is that it is an unnecessary and predatory industry and all auto makers should just sell cars directly like Tesla does. That being said, is there any counterpoint to this view? Are there any benefits that dealerships offer today over direct sales? What would we lose if we got rid of every dealership? If there is t…

Easier to see multiple cars from multiple different manufacturers in person in one lot through an informed salesperson. Ford showrooms will not have Toyota cars.

They usually will in the used lot (if any used cars were available anymore).

And many dealer families run multiple brands under one name.

Eg: https://www.walser.com/new-vehicles/minnesota/

Re: Ford CEO says EVs will be sold 100% online with nonnegotiable price

#402

Post by elif »

heavyset_go wrote: post #314
toomuchtodo wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Diplomacy is the art of saying “good dog” until you make it to the rock. Ford is learning what Tesla knew from the start: dealership interests aren’t aligned with EV manufacturers. There’s very little service revenue, and dealers are incentivized to add “market adjustments” to vehicles (which Ford dealers have been doing) creating a poor customer experience. Ford has existing dealerships and is going to have a heck o…

Unfortunately, manufacturers' interests are often not aligned with retail customers' interests. For example, with Tesla, the company optimizes delivery numbers of cars sold by sacrificing quality control, and their service center model is anemic and almost an afterthought, especially when it comes to addressing the QC issues their customers experience. For every Tesla with 400k miles on them with a few thousand dolla…

wow 17 borderline cosmetic opinions on a fully functional vehicle.

how dare they sell that vehicle.

Not to mention that when they bought it, Tesla gave the buyer the opportunity to reject it and have another specimen manufactured at no cost. they decided to keep it because it appears their vanity is literally only skin deep.

Re: Ford CEO says EVs will be sold 100% online with nonnegotiable price

#403

Post by babypuncher »

devy wrote: post #369
medler wrote: post #351

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m skeptical that this reorg will allow Ford to sell direct to consumers, and I haven’t seen any reporting saying that it will. Notably, Ford has explicitly said they’re not doing that: “We’re not keeping dealers in the mix 'for the moment.' We are betting on dealers for the long term. I want to make that really clear. I’m not mincing words. We will have new standards and a new experience. But we learned a lot by wa…

> Maybe going direct is the secret plan, but I don’t see how they get there. Yeah, the dealership and the state level dealership associations aren't going to go out of business without some good fight. Even though I personally don't like the markup to be paid at the dealerships, but they exist for some good reasons: educate the consumers, financing, DMV paperwork and most importantly service your vehicles. EVs need m…

>> educate the consumers

Every dealership I've been to has been more interested in feeding me whatever line of crap they think will get me to buy a car, not actually educating me about the different products available.

>> financing, DMV paperwork

Tesla and Carvana have proven these can be taken care of without a third party dealership. In most cases, financing is provided by a bank or credit union, not the dealership itself

>> and most importantly service your vehicles

Unless the fix is covered by warranty, I'm not taking my car anywhere near a dealership. They charge considerably more money than my trusted mechanic. My Hyundai dealership wanted $125 just for an oil change on a 2013 Sonata.

In theory, a dealership could be good for all of these things. In practice though, they suck. There is a reason most people hate car dealerships.

Re: Ford CEO says EVs will be sold 100% online with nonnegotiable price

#404

Post by [deleted] »

bombcar wrote: post #378
alexb_ wrote: post #367

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I owned 6 Teslas over the last several years. ??????? Why on earth would you need this many Teslas? Maybe if you are buying so many teslas then it makes sense why you don't need them serviced - you barely give them enough time to wear themselves out!

If you buy the latest and greatest and continuously upgrade to the next greatest it’s not that expensive; often cheaper than leasing.

[deleted]

Re: Ford CEO says EVs will be sold 100% online with nonnegotiable price

#405

Post by cuteboy19 »

refulgentis wrote: post #386
cuteboy19 wrote: post #379

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Dealerships are rent seeking entities that exist purely due to laws that force consumers to deal with them and only them. They are not in either consumer or manufacturers interest.

This is an extreme absolutist position that seems immediately falsified by the detailed and nuanced post it is in reply to

If dealerships are so beloved by customers and so beneficial to them, why would they lobby so hard against customers doing business with manufacturers? They wouldn't need to if customers truly preferred them. Instead, Car salesman are despised even more than lawyers! Everything a dealer can do, a mechanic can do for cheaper. It's a ripoff and the law forces it to be a ripoff

Re: Ford CEO says EVs will be sold 100% online with nonnegotiable price

#406

Post by Thorrez »

bombcar wrote: post #378
alexb_ wrote: post #367

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I owned 6 Teslas over the last several years. ??????? Why on earth would you need this many Teslas? Maybe if you are buying so many teslas then it makes sense why you don't need them serviced - you barely give them enough time to wear themselves out!

If you buy the latest and greatest and continuously upgrade to the next greatest it’s not that expensive; often cheaper than leasing.

Do you have data on that? I thought cars lose a lot of their value as soon as they drive off the lot.

And how long of leases are you talking about?

Re: Ford CEO says EVs will be sold 100% online with nonnegotiable price

#407

Post by _carbyau_ »

ars wrote: post #237
toomuchtodo wrote: post #233

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Distance typo fixed, thank you! Happy to have provided a chuckle.

> 400k km ? LOL Why not just use megameters? 400Mm OK, something about that looks odd. But what's the point in SI units if you can't actually use them? Maybe 250k miles?

I am totally using Mm next time someone talks cars/bikes with me. Thank you.

Re: Ford CEO says EVs will be sold 100% online with nonnegotiable price

#408

Post by nixass »

devy wrote: post #369
medler wrote: post #351

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m skeptical that this reorg will allow Ford to sell direct to consumers, and I haven’t seen any reporting saying that it will. Notably, Ford has explicitly said they’re not doing that: “We’re not keeping dealers in the mix 'for the moment.' We are betting on dealers for the long term. I want to make that really clear. I’m not mincing words. We will have new standards and a new experience. But we learned a lot by wa…

> Maybe going direct is the secret plan, but I don’t see how they get there. Yeah, the dealership and the state level dealership associations aren't going to go out of business without some good fight. Even though I personally don't like the markup to be paid at the dealerships, but they exist for some good reasons: educate the consumers, financing, DMV paperwork and most importantly service your vehicles. EVs need m…

Al these things are available at official manufacturer's shops in Europe, no need to go to private dealer. And for some of those you're likely to get better rates if you shop around (car service, financing)

Re: Ford CEO says EVs will be sold 100% online with nonnegotiable price

#409

Post by alkonaut »

Everywhere that manufacturers let you make order and wait for your custom car instead of buying from a lot (isn’t that a US only thing?) the dealerships didn’t go away.

Dealerships are important as showrooms, service centers, a place to sell (slightly) used cars with brand warranties etc.

Re: Ford CEO says EVs will be sold 100% online with nonnegotiable price

#410

Post by toast0 »

hackernewds wrote: post #286
Alupis wrote: post #195

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To make it as clear as possible - Dealerships compete to win your business. They compete in varying ways, which include price and service. Who does Ford compete with if they set all of the prices and offer direct sales for an entire product line (EV's in this case)? The answer is "nobody". And we all know competition is what benefits the consumer... this is a regression, not an advancement. The dealership model can u…

If Ford sells a car at $20000 to a dealership, no way they sell it to you below $20000 given they even have additional costs due to the inefficiencies of being a middleman, rent, transportation, manual staff, insurance, etc

Just like Ford can give the purchaser rebates, they can give the dealer rebates or holdbacks or various other payments when the car is sold (or if enough of certain types of cars are sold) or payments while the car is unsold; just because Ford sold the car for $20,000 doesn't mean the dealer gave them net $20,000 for it.
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